


A Kind of Library

by orphan_account



Series: The Angela/Embry Same-Plot Pair [2]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Cute, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Gift Fic, Library Sex, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-29
Updated: 2011-05-29
Packaged: 2017-11-08 18:41:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/446289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angela didn't love her Friday nights working at the UW library as much as she used to, until Embry came up with Jake to visit one weekend. AU: the Cullens never returned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Kind of Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WolfGirlAtHeart](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=WolfGirlAtHeart).



> WolfGirlAtHeart requested: An Embry/Angela fic with no imprinting, just lots of cute flirting that may or may not end in sexy times. Must involve a library and Embry's wolfy tendencies. Bonus points for sweet-talk and minimal drama.
> 
> MeraNaamJoker: Do you really want them to do it? I can have that happen.
> 
> WolfGirlAtHeart: I really really really DO want that! Esp. after reading them on the steps.
> 
> Twilight and all its recognizable situations belong to Stephenie Meyer.

_I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library._  
 _  
 **~Jorge Luis Borges**_

Angela liked Friday evenings usually, because that was the time she could think. Her dorm was busy, always, and sometimes she had to look out her door and plead with the people in the hallway to remember that she had to get up for 8:30 classes. Her room was sometimes crowded, too, because Bella's boyfriend came up every other weekend, and although neither member of the couple made Angela feel like she should leave, she wanted to anyway when she saw how happy they were together.

Ever since Ben and she had broken up, things just hadn't been the same.

Angela wasn't an idiot. She knew as well as anyone else the odds of a high school couple making it all the way through college intact. She knew that the person her seventeen-year-old self chose might not be the person her twenty-one-year-old self wanted, mostly because her mother had beaten that idea into her head day and night for the last six months of Angela's senior year. Her mother had been terrified that Angela would choose her higher education prospects based on her boyfriend, and sometimes in her more honest moments Angela could admit that maybe she had been right to be worried. Well, good thing Angela had listened and chosen U-Dub. The fact that Ben happened to go to the same school had been great, but they both knew that if they broke up the school was mammoth enough that they could avoid each other easily, especially given their wildly differing majors.

Angela's major was Early Childhood Education, but she hadn't wanted her work-study to be at the on-campus childcare center, and she'd lucked out by not getting a filing job at the admissions office or something along those lines. No, she got to work in the library on Wednesday afternoons, Friday nights, and Sunday evenings, and she loved it. Even though the duties were tedious—re-shelving books, checking out books sometimes if they were shorthanded, helping file reference material and repair damaged books—they were also undemanding and left her time to contemplate. Lately, though, contemplation had been an unwelcome side-effect, because she just ended up contemplating various ways of making Ben feel sorry that he had dumped her, and most of those ways were unbecoming to a minister's daughter, and then she ended up cringing with guilt the next time she saw her father's number light up her cell phone.

So here she was on a Friday in the deserted library, with another weekend approaching of Jacob Black coming up and sexifying the dorm (it was a co-ed dorm but that just meant there was equal-opportunity ogling going on) while Bella pretended she wasn't getting him naked every chance she got and Angela hid in various on-campus corners because her car was making funny noises and she didn't want to walk places in the cold January rain. Not to mention the fact that she just didn't want to go anywhere by herself. She knew she could ask Bella or some of the other girls on their floor to come along, but none of them were Ben. Better just to nurse her wounded—she refused to say broken because she was _sensible_ and knew that teenager breakups were a _temporary_ pain, thanks again to her mother's instruction—heart in private. She wouldn't say mope, either, although she knew that could just as easily apply.

When she heard the throat clearing behind her, she barely glanced up enough to identify the phlegm-rearranger. "Oh. Hi Jake. Bella's not here."

"Some people say we all look alike," the stranger's voice mused, "But I have to say I've never really seen the resemblance."

Angela dropped the book she'd been about to re-shelve and spun around, eyes wide. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed in the polite undertone that actually carried less than a whisper in these acoustics. "I am so, so—"

She almost bit her tongue off when she saw his face. Holy crap. How did Bella get all these amazing guys around her? What a lucky bitch. (No, no. If she thought that her dad was sure to know. What a _blessed girl.)_ He was just as tall as Jake, but his expression had a sweetness to it that Jake was too confident to display, and his eyes were wider too, with longer lashes. Same skin tone, though, and same straight black hair, and same high cheekbones. Same amazing body, although he was wearing a shirt and shoes, which was a concession to civilization Jake rarely made.

She suddenly realized she had never finished her sentence. "Sorry," she exhaled weakly, bending to pick up the book without taking her eyes off his.

He smiled at her. "It's okay. I was just teasing. I'm Jake's friend Embry. You're Angela, right?" At her nod, he continued, "I'm guessing that if Bella's not here, Jake isn't either, then."

His smile was really sweet, too. Angela mustered one up in return. "You'd guess right. Did you come up with him?"

"Yeah, we came here together," he replied absentmindedly. "Hey, is that Voltaire?"

"Uh..." Angela looked down at the volume in her hand. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Can I see?" He took the book and eagerly opened it. "We don't have _God and Human Beings_ at the library near us, but I read _Candide_ and it was kickass. Did you like it?"

Wow. Hot _and_ smart. Well, that meant he'd lose interest in her if they spoke longer than ten minutes. It wasn't like she was _Bella_ and able to attract gorgeous men by the sheer power of her aura. Suddenly too world-weary to pretend, Angela shrugged. "I don't know. I've never read it. I was just re-shelving this because that's my job."

Embry glanced up at her flat tone, eyes sharpening as he beheld her expression. He spoke gently, though. "Not a big fan of the classics?"

Angela smiled again halfheartedly. "No, that's Bella. I have horrible tastes in literature. If you can even call it literature." She turned back to the shelf and put another book back where it belonged, then began pushing her cart to her next destination.

He followed. "If it's books we'll call it literature. What do you like, then?"

Ah, screw it. If she was honest he'd move on and quit taunting her with all those good looks she'd never have access to as her own. "Genre fiction. Fantasy. Young adult." She tapped that final nail in the coffin. "Romance."

"That's—"

"Don't say 'porn for chicks,'" she warned, flashing him a glance over the tops of her glasses as she lifted two more books from the cart.

"If I did, I would mean it as a compliment," he said solemnly, but his eyes lit up with laughter.

Angela giggled in spite of herself. "Well, it's not porn. I don't think that three sex scenes in three hundred pages counts for anything more than R-rated."

"It just keeps things interesting," Embry agreed. "So what's the sex-scene-to-page-count ratio for true porn? Has anyone ever worked this equation? I think science needs to address the issue."

She giggled again, feeling her heart lift as she did so. It seemed like it'd been forever since she laughed, and meant it. "I think it should too." She checked the spine on the next book and started pushing her cart again. "It's for the good of mankind."

"Exactly. I'd hate to, say, get it wrong by ten percent or something. If I'm going for porn I want it to be true porn, not some half-assed romance stuff."

"Oh, and romance is half-assed?" she teased, stopping at the elevator to push the up button.

"No, not the way I do it."

A shiver ran up Angela's spine. She gave him a sideways glance. "Do you have a girlfriend, then?"

The elevator dinged. He reached to hold the door open for her as she pushed the cart in. "Nope. I haven't had one in about six months." He didn't sound like that bothered him much.

"I haven't had a boyfriend in about two months," she blurted, and instantly wanted to sink into the ground. _Honestly, Angela. Could you get more pathetic?_

He wrinkled his forehead in apparent confusion. "That's weird."

The doors opened to reveal the fourth floor. "Why?" she asked as they both disembarked.

"Just I wouldn't have thought all the guys at U-Dub would be so stupid."

She couldn't help the pleased grin she felt spread across her face at that. "Maybe I love being single," she said primly, shoving the glass doors that led to the bookshelves open with the cart. "Maybe I need physical purity to attain enlightenment. Maybe I ditched him to pursue a convent lifestyle."

"Convent, huh? That's not the exact description I would've given Bella's dorm, from what Jake thought. I mean, from what he said," he mused, the amused light back in his eyes.

"No, it's more like a free love festival from the sixties," she replied dryly. "Or maybe a key party from the seventies."

"It's weird how people used to consider sleeping around a special occasion," he pointed out, grinning. "Now we just call it 'college.'"

Angela snorted with laughter. "Yeah, it's lost all its novelty I guess." A muffled thump, followed by barely-suppressed laughter, caught her ear. She sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Case in point."

He seemed to know exactly what she meant, head turning to the farthest study room door immediately. "Awesome," he said with a nod and a smirk.

"Yeah, whoever built this library without glass walls didn't really take into account the fact that most of its patrons were gonna be between eighteen and twenty-five," she said, laughing, but he didn't respond. His facial expression had arrested in fascination, and he folded his lips in as if desperately trying to hold in a guffaw, while he continued to stare at the door.

"I guess I know what Jake's up to," he managed to say.

It took a second for Angela to catch up with the implications, and then she laughed with mingled exasperation and amusement. "Again? A couple weeks ago I barely kept my boss from walking in on them. Swear to God, those two are like animals. "

"Well, Jake is anyway. Guarantee Bella told him she had to study and made him come here so she could 'focus.'"

Angela stopped, looked at the book she needed to shelve, and surveyed the bookshelf with no enthusiasm. "Great. Top shelf." She started looking around. "We need to find a ladder."

She caught sight of it at the same time as Embry, judging by his chuckle. "You sure you want to get it?" The ladder stood just outside the study room currently in use by Jake and Bella.

"I don't have many options here," she replied resignedly. "It's out of your reach, even."

"Here. I can lift you." He held out his hands.

She looked at them doubtfully. Sure, he was built, but... "I'm not little like Bella." She didn't mind being tall and curvy, most of the time, except for moments like this.

He laughed at her again. "Good, so I won't worry I'll hurt you if I look at you too hard." He put his hands on her waist and turned her so that she faced away from him. "Ready?"

Ooh, he was hot. Hot hot hot. Angela could feel each individual finger burning into her skin, even through her shirt and hoodie. She squeaked, "Okay." Moving as effortlessly as though he held only the book, Embry hoisted her over his head, straight to the appropriate shelf section. His arms weren't even the slightest bit unsteady; she could have been still standing on the floor in his grip for all he showed it. Angela put the book in its place and laid her hands over his. "All right." He lowered her down but didn't let go right away. Angela kept her hands where they were too, suppressing a sigh. Oh, boys. They were so nice, when they weren't saying things like "we're too young to cut off our options like this." They smelled good and they felt good and they appreciated being allowed to touch girl-bodies and _damn_ she missed having one for her own.

She turned inside the circle of his hands to look up at him—

And the lights went out.

Angela gasped and reached for Embry, hanging on to his shirt. "What happened?" she quavered. She hated the dark. Hated it. Probably it had something to do with not getting glasses till she was in eighth grade, and being myopic for years beforehand. She couldn't even see across her room at night, and things had seemed to move and creep around on their shelves before her limited childhood gaze.

"Just a power outage. It's been windy tonight; probably a line went down." His hand moved to the small of her back and started to rub in comforting circles. "You okay? The library has generators, right?"

Angela's heart moved up to her throat and seemed determined to stay there. "Uh-huh, but I'm not sure they work, because last time there was a blackout things were dark for an hour." She had used her cell phone for light while she did her homework, since there wasn't any way to get the book cart up the stairs and her supervisor refused to allow her to leave. The juggling act of holding her phone while flipping pages and writing notes had distracted her enough to prevent a full-blown panic attack, but she had no such diversions at the moment.

"Do you need to leave? I can get us out, no problem. I've got really good night vision." Embry's voice seemed loud in the silence left by the absence of electricity.

Angela shook her head. "No, I'm not supposed to leave because I've got to get my hours in. We can probably go down to the first level, though, and check with my boss." She pointed automatically, though she knew he couldn't see. "The stairs are under that exit sign over there."

He slid his hand down to grasp hers. "Okay, just let me lead the way."

Obediently, she followed as he headed to the door and held it open for her. Once they stepped into the stairwell, she immediately felt better. The emergency lights cast a dim but reassuring luminescence against the institutional white walls. The last thing she heard before the doors shut was Jake's voice, and Bella's muffled laughter.

"First floor, right?" Embry hadn't dropped her hand, and she didn't really want to reclaim it as long as he didn't seem to mind. "Have you worked here long?" he asked as they headed down the steps.

"Since last semester. I was really lucky. I could've got stuck in SGA or grounds maintenance or something. Do you have a job?"

"Yeah, I do, but it doesn't pay much." He seemed privately amused, even though Angela couldn't see what was so funny about that. "If I can, I'm going to try to go here next semester. I got behind for a while back in high school, but I should be caught up with where I need to be soon."

Angela tried to quash the flare of excitement that spurted through her at his words. Just because he was coming to U-Dub didn't mean a damn thing. "I guess it'll be nice to have someone you know when you get here." When he turned a questioning glance her way, she clarified, "Bella, I mean."

"And you, too," he replied with that same sweet smile.

Angela felt a dopey smile spreading in answer across her own face, but couldn't seem to tone it down. "Yeah, me too. Maybe we can—" She cut herself off as he tugged on the first floor doorknob and nothing happened. "What's wrong?"

"It's not opening." He frowned and tried the knob again. "That's weird. Isn't this a fire escape route?"

What a weird thing for a boy to think about, but he was right. "Yeah, it's supposed to be unlocked all the time."

"Wanna go back up?"

Together, they headed back to the fourth floor, but Angela's footsteps slowed as they approached the door. Through it, only darkness waited.

Embry glanced at her, and then stopped. "If you want, we can just wait here."

Angela laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like tons of fun for you. Sitting on the steps in a library with a girl who's scared of the dark." A second later, she realized what she had admitted and felt herself blush. Too late to take it back now.

Embry sat on the steps, pulling her down beside him. "It beats running around Seattle by myself, or being the third wheel on the Jake-and-Bells bicycle." She laughed as she leaned into his side. He put his arm around her. She hid her delight as he asked, "So what's your major?"

"Early Childhood Ed."

"Then I'm assuming you like kids." He laughed as he said it.

Angela pretended to think about it. "I hope so... No, actually I really enjoy hanging out with kids. I used to teach Sunday School a lot back when I was in high school. Now that I only go home one weekend a month, though, my mom wants me in the service with her. Gotta decorate the front pew and everything."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Decorate the front pew?"

Angela shrugged. "My dad's the minister of the church. He needs me looking conservative and non-sorority-sister-ish up there so he can prove to the congregation that he hasn't been a massive parenting fail." She heard the faint note of bitterness singing through her words, but she couldn't quite mute it.

"Why would they think that?" Embry wanted to know.

She looked up at his face, enjoying the unusual feeling of being way shorter than the boy next to her. Ben had only been an inch or so taller than she. "You know, because I'm a PK. Preacher's Kid. They all assume I'm gonna be a wild child now that I'm at college. They know I couldn't have gotten away with anything in Forks because, hello, population 3000, but since I'm in Seattle they assume I'm getting drunk every night and sleeping my way through campus."

"Sounds fun," he said cheerfully. "How far have you gotten? Made much of a dent in the U-Dub male population? Or am I assuming too much? Should I be asking about the female population too? Please say yes."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Please. I came here with my ex-boyfriend and I haven't even been on a date since we broke up."

He got a mischievous gleam in his eye, but he couldn't look too dangerous with that endearing smile still in place. "Well, we need to remedy that situation. Which should we do first, the drinking or the sex? Or do you want to do both at once?" He reached to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand.

The thought of Embry naked lodged firmly in her brain and wouldn't budge. Angela felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter, but she managed to meet his gaze head-on. Her mouth went dry. "That sounds good," she managed to say. She couldn't be positive he was serious, but she really hoped he was.

He shrugged one broad shoulder, giving her a squeeze with the arm around her. "Both at once. Got it. You can show your idiot ex what he gave up."

Angela was pretty sure she was having an out-of-body experience, a suspicion confirmed when she heard her own voice say, "We could get a head start on the sex now, though. It's not like there's anything else to do. If you want to."

"Really?" He looked delighted at the prospect, like Christmas and his birthday had happened all at once. She giggled at the sight, and then his mouth closed over hers, muffling the sound. His hands came up to cup her face, rubbing her cheeks and tracing across her jaw while his lips moved expertly on her own. Angela didn't know how it happened, but suddenly she was straddling his lap, glasses off, both hands buried in his hair to hold his head steady while she opened her mouth and sucked on his lower lip. Three years of high school spent defending her virginity (for no good reason, as far as she was concerned now) meant that she'd perfected the art of kissing, and apparently Embry had gained just as much experience if not more. His jaw opened wider and his tongue slipped in to join hers. They moaned simultaneously at the sensation.

His hands slid down her sides and gripped her hips under her shirt, pulling her against him. Angela whimpered at the feel of his fingers digging into her skin. He smiled against her mouth, nipping at her lips, and then groaned appreciatively when she lifted his shirt to rake her nails lightly down his chest and stomach. Oh, God, he felt so good. Angela ground herself shamelessly against the erection pressing through their clothes, between her legs, while he ran his hands up her ribcage and slid his thumbs along the bottom edge of her bra. She shivered at the heat and rough skin against her own.

Abruptly, Embry froze, and she did too, then pulled back, ready to apologize. Holy crap, what the heck was the matter with her? She'd never—but when she met his eyes, she saw that he was looking at her like he'd never felt up a girl before (though the skill in those hands put the lie to that notion). "I don't want to stop," he told her.

"Me neither," she blurted before she could think herself out of it.

"But I don't want to do this here where anyone can walk in on us, either." His hands were moving again, sliding under her bra and brushing across her back.

Angela caught her breath and leaned back into him, pressing her breasts to his chest. God, he was ripped. He made a happy noise and turned his head to kiss her neck. "Um..." She'd never really had to consider the issue of where to find privacy in the library before, and his lips pressing kisses across her collarbone made it almost impossible to think. "There's the handicapped restroom. I doubt anyone'll want to go in there while the power's out, and it's got a huge counter, plus it locks." She reached to grab her glasses from the floor beside them.

"Let's go." He rose, lifting her with him effortlessly. Angela clutched at his shoulders. "You okay?"

"Uh-huh." She hiked up a little bit in his grasp to suck on his earlobe. Was she really going to do this? "Hurry." Guess so.

"Yeah." He didn't bother to put her down, just reached around to open the door with one hand while holding her with the other. "Where?"

"Near the back wall," she whispered, mindful of possible listening ears, as he strode back into the dark.

Embry found the right room unerringly, walking as confidently as if it was full daylight straight to the bathroom door while Angela closed her eyes and pretended that was why she couldn't see anything. His hand on her rear helped distract her until he set her down on the countertop and moved away. She heard the sound of the bolt clicking home before his arms went around her again and she relaxed into his embrace.

"You're really hot." She put her hands on his biceps just to feel the rock-hard muscle underneath.

He chuckled in her ear before he traced its outline with his tongue. It was as hot as the rest of him, but it made her shiver. "Thank you."

She laughed too. "No, I mean, temperature-wise. Are you feeling okay?"

" _So_ okay. I just run hot, is all." He had his hands under her shirt again, running around her bra until he found the fastening in back. With one quick flick, he undid the hooks, but he didn't go straight for her boobs the way she expected. His hands splayed across her bare back and pulled her against him while he pressed soft kisses to her throat. Angela wrapped her legs around his, feeling her skin flushed under his attention. "You smell so good."

"Mm, you can thank Suave for that," she replied with a smile. She was a minister's daughter on a scholarship; she couldn't afford anything out of the two dollar range.

"I think it's just you." He licked along the path he'd just kissed, from her collarbone to her jaw, and blew on the wet trail left behind. Angela squeaked. He did it again, moving his hands down to cup her ass. "God, you're sexy."

Oh, that was really nice to hear. She'd felt so completely _not enough_ since Ben dumped her. She wasn't certain what she didn't have enough of, but whatever it was she felt sure she lacked it... till right now, with Embry's rigid length pressing between her legs and his breath rushing fast next to her ear as he nibbled on her jaw. If somebody as fine as this boy could say things like that about her, and sound like he meant it, then maybe Ben was just a tool. "You too."

She lifted his shirt hem; he helped her get it off and did the same for her, then drew off her bra too. Angela traced his torso, shoulders to pecs to abs. He ducked to one of her nipples and lapped at the tight peak. She gasped and ran her fingernails across his scalp as he started sucking, setting a slow, steady rhythm with lips and tongue. She felt like she was in a sauna, the small room growing steadily warmer with the waves of heat pouring from his body into hers. She leaned back to give him better access. Embry switched to the other side and palmed the breast he'd left behind.

She reached between them until she could slide her hand inside his shorts and curl her fingers around his erection. He groaned when she did and whispered, "Shit, Angela, if you keep that up I'm just going to rip your clothes off and fuck you right now."

Angela felt herself go completely damp at the blunt appreciation in his words. "That doesn't sound so bad," she managed to say as she stroked him. "I mean, it sounds really good, actually."

He gently pulled her hand away. "I'm kind of hoping to do better for the sake of my pride." His fingers moved to her jeans and undid the button fly. She leaned back on her hands and lifted her hips to let him pull them off, along with her underwear. The counter was cold under her ass, but she barely had a chance to shiver before Embry went down on his knees and started kissing her belly, then pushed her back a little.

"Um..." she started, but that was as far as she got before he moved down to the folds between her legs and nuzzled there. The heat from his breath alone made her gasp again. "Embry?"

"Uh-huh?" He hooked her legs over his shoulders.

Angela tried to think of a way to tell him he was freaking her out without sounding like an inexperienced idiot, but the problem was that she _was_ inexperienced and oh _God_ , he licked her. Instantly every coherent thought flew out of her head as the feverish tongue traced from bottom to top, paying special attention to the bundle of nerves at the apex before sliding back down and dipping inside her. She heard a completely foreign sound come out of her mouth—it didn't even _sound_ like her—and he made an appreciative noise against her as he did it again. And again. And again, over and over until she was panting and moaning between clenched teeth, just barely remembering that she had to be quiet. Those burning-hot lips closed around her clit, sucking gently; he slid one finger inside her and that was it. Angela writhed against his mouth, coming harder than she ever had in her life, thighs clamping on either side of his head as he rode it out with her.

When she caught her breath she realized she shook from head to toe. "Embry—"

He surged up to kiss her mouth, hands urgent as they gripped and tugged against her waist. "That was _so_ hot," he murmured against her lips. One hand left her body. A second later, she heard the rip of a condom wrapper being opened and felt him moving to put it on one-handed. "You're beautiful, Angela. You turn me on so damn much. I just wanna be inside you now, okay?"

She felt him pressing, hard against her entrance. "Yes, please, God, _now_ ," she begged, and guided him into her, crossing her legs behind his back to push him as deep as she could.

Embry groaned again when he was buried inside her. Angela smiled with satisfaction at the sound and kissed his chest, then licked his nipples. He caressed her head, saying soft-voiced, "You feel amazing."

"You too." He was stretching her, filling her more completely than she'd experienced before. She angled her hips up a bit to take him deeper.

Embry reached down with one hand to hitch her thigh up a little more. He leaned on the counter with the other hand as he began to move inside her. Angela moved with him, looping her arms around his neck. He whispered to her as he stroked in and out, a constant stream of praise and appreciation: "So soft, so wet, such a pretty girl, you make me so fucking hot..."

Angela was beyond being able to speak. All she could do was cling to him and moan.

He reached between them, rubbing her clit with his thumb. She whimpered. "You like that? You want more?" Angela nodded frantically against his chest. He picked up the pace a little. "You know, what I really want is for you to come again for me. Do you think you could do that?"

Angela wasn't sure; she'd never come twice in a row like that before. She was more than willing to try, though. Before she could say anything, Embry lifted his fingers to his mouth, and then lowered them between her legs again.

"You taste so good." He bent her back, supporting her against his arm, so he could drive into her harder. The steady movement of his fingers, the drag and pull in and out, the heat and most of all the words he spoke combined to send Angela over the edge again. Embry groaned her name as she convulsed around him and slid as far into her as he could, fingers digging deep to hold her still while he throbbed inside her.

For a moment, they clung to each other and panted, but then Angela's leg started to go pins-and-needles and she winced. As if he could see, Embry apologized, "Sorry," and angled off her, kissing her chest and stomach as he went. Angela slid off the counter and felt around for her clothes. Within seconds Embry had gathered them up and pressed them into her grasp. "Here you go. Need any help?"

"I've got it, thanks." Sanity was starting to return, and with it her self-doubt. What the heck had she been thinking? This was so totally unlike her. Sure, he was gorgeous and everything, but that didn't really excuse screwing him on a bathroom counter. Angela thought about it as she struggled into her underwear and t-shirt, and then tugged her jeans on. Had she just been totally stupid?

"Hey." Embry pulled her into a hug after she buttoned her jeans. She snuggled into his arms—why not, as long as he was offering? "I feel like I should apologize or something. I don't usually have sex in restrooms with girls I just met. I think you made me temporarily insane."

She giggled, oddly reassured by the worry in his tone. "I think you did the same thing to me."

"I wanted to—" He stiffened.

"What is it?"

"Jake and Bella are coming this way. I think he heard me." Angela didn't see how that was possible, but he seemed pretty certain. "I'll walk out first. Wait here a second until I can kind of redirect them."

"No, wait..." But he was already gone.

Angela tried to breathe deeply and ignore the fear that wanted to choke her while she found her glasses and put them back on. She didn't have to try long, because just as abruptly as they'd gone off, the lights came back on. She heard the heating start up simultaneously. Probably she could go out without Jake and Bella figuring out what she'd been up to now.

As soon as she swung the door open, she spotted the three of them standing near the elevator. "I saw the book cart so she should be around here somewhere," Bella said as Angela stepped out of the bathroom.

"There she is." Jake nodded in her direction, and Bella and Embry turned to smile and wave.

"Ange, do you get off soon?" Bella asked in a polite undertone, shouldering her backpack.

 _Twice in the past fifteen minutes, as a matter of fact._ Angela stifled a giggle and dug her cell phone out of her pocket. "Now, actually."

Embry's smile lit up his whole face. "Sweet! Let's go out."

Before Angela could answer, Bella scolded, "Embry! At least let me introduce you first." She smiled at her roommate.

Jake looked like he was barely suppressing laughter. "Uh, Bells?" Embry directed a warning glance at him and he fell silent.

"You must be Embry," Angela said, voice shaky with amusement and other emotions.

"Nice to meet you." His eyes crinkled at the edges but he didn't give himself away. "Now can we go out?"

"Sure."

"It was a great idea to invite Embry up this weekend, Bells," Jake said, pushing the call button for the elevator.

Angela directed a questioning look Bella's way. "I thought the two of you might get along." Bella shrugged a little at her, still with that self-conscious smile.

Angela waited till the two boys started talking to each other, then leaned over to whisper, "You invited him here as a set-up?"

Bella nodded, eyes darting uncomfortably to Jake and Embry though there was no way either of them could hear. "You've been so sad..."

Angela looked at her for a minute, remembering senior year and Bella sitting at that lunch table, finally coming out of her catatonia to defend Angela from the skepticism of the other kids. She slipped an arm around Bella's waist. "You might've officially won the title 'Best Roommate Ever' tonight."

"Nah." Bella leaned into her, though she was still too reserved to hug back. "You've got that title locked down. It looks like it's going to be a good night, though, right?"

The door slid open with a chime. "Best Friday in months," Angela replied cheerfully, and followed the others onto the elevator.


End file.
